[Journey] Growing a YouTube channel to monetization!

[GB Scriese]

Hello Affiliate Ninjas,

you might have spotted me on this forum before, buzzing around topics such as CPA offers and gaming, but today, I am embarking on something new! I have started a YouTube channel focused on games and relaxation. While this is a passionate hobby for me, I will document its business side here as a journey and maybe motivation for others.

Feel free to have a look at the channel: Froghead ASMR

Our goal:

• Successfully monetize a YouTube channel
  • 1000 subscribers,
  • 4000 watch hours within a year
  • Respect guidelines and avoid trouble

What we will need:

• Content
  
  • Long-form, atmospheric gaming videos with relaxing voiceover and added sound effects: Self-recorded and edited in Hungarian and English.
• Creative material
  
  • Intro sequences, thumbnails, social media posts: Self-designed or -drawn with minimal AI assistance. Sounds from free libraries.
• Source games
  
  • Slow-paced, building or strategy genre with focus on atmosphere

1. WHERE ARE WE NOW?

The channel is launched and active with 26 subscribers and 7 videos uploaded at the moment. Minimal amount of views, likes and comments coming in, although I am glad to see the 200+ organic views on one of the videos. Reassuring!

2. WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?

Most importantly, we keep posting (1-2)*2 videos per week, both in English and Hungarian. We keep our eyes open for new games to feature on the channel, which is going to involve some investment before monetization, but that is a calculated expense.

Feel free to ask any questions or suggest ideas on this journey, thank you for reading!

Alright. Let's go!

 

[thelegend]

Well good luck on your journey
And in my opinion if you start from pasion the half of the battle its win as when you make something with pasion it doesnt feel like work
Also i think you should make as many videos as you can if you have the time as with youtube the more videos you have the better chances of succes you have

 

[T J Tutor]

!!!AWESOME!!!

!!!WE'RE WATCHING!!!

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[azgold]

Best of luck, sounds like you're off to a solid start!

 

[Fabian_Bau]

Hi! Congratulations! Look, it's an interesting channel. But from what I see how YouTube works, you need more short videos to attract attention. They tend to skyrocket to the top, and then viewers transition to your main videos. Game choice also plays a big role. Right now, Minecraft is very popular, so your choice is spot on.

 

[GB Scriese]

Thank you to everyone

for the encouragement!

@Fabian_Bau , indeed, and so yesterday I made a short a posted it. Somewhat out of the best hours, but it still got some relatively decent engagement. I'll be looking into it more!

 

[Fabian_Bau]

Thank you to everyone

for the encouragement!

@Fabian_Bau , indeed, and so yesterday I made a short a posted it. Somewhat out of the best hours, but it still got some relatively decent engagement. I'll be looking into it more!

Good luck, man!

 

[Strickland]

Interesting thread @GB Scriese how are you getting on?

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[GB Scriese]

Hey @Strickland , thank you for the interest. Let this also be a general update post.

I have been posting two videos every week, one in Hungarian, one in English. Last week, due to an injury and lack of time, it was skipped and I made a post about taking a little break, but I plan to continue with two new videos this week.

We are currently at these numbers:

• 121 subscribers
• 890.9 watch hours from 6957 views
• 2.4% impression CTR

Some lessons learned:

• Geography wise, 42% are Hungarian, the rest are diversely international, with the US being the biggest at 12.2%
• Videos perform the best when posted on Monday and Tuesday, opposed to my original theory of Thursday afternoon or weekend postings
• Passive viewer- and subscriber "generation" is still almost zero. New content is a requirement for growth.
• Thumbnails slightly enhanced by AI do considerably better than vanilla thumbnails.
• People looking for relaxation don't need life lessons. They just want to watch me play.

Next steps:

• More games and formats
  • The next idea is a documentary-style video. Still relaxing, but closer to a show-and-tell or a documentary movie with better cinematic work and more in-depth lore.
• Equipment upgrade
  • Possibly a camera for non-screen-recorded videos, a bigger step from the original concept, but one requested by several viewers.

Overall, I am very happy with the numbers and on a personal level.

 

[Graybeard]

GB, what is the monetization angle here?
Are you making money per *subscriber* --how, with adverts?

 

[GB Scriese]

@Graybeard , it is standard YouTube monetization via ads for now. Extra angles like Patreon or merchandise are options down the line, but depend on the time I can dedicate to this project, which is limited.

Unfortunately, YouTube, being themselves, can and will monetize any video. The requirements apply only to the creator to get paid. Subscriber count is both a requirement for monetization and a measurement for revenue when it is achieved, but there are other factors in the formula.

 

[Graybeard]

Maybe, add a few ad spots, creatively and brief, in your videos?

 

[derekg]

tried to make sense of it in this thread